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By David Brunnstrom and Michael Martina BEIJING (Reuters) – The United States and China clashed over a territorial dispute in the South China Sea on Saturday, as China’s foreign minister asserted its sovereignty to reclaim reefs saying its determination to protect its interests is “as hard as a rock”. After a private meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi showed no sign of backing
(Reuters) – A magnitude 5.7 earthquake hit Nepal on Saturday, about 76 km east south east of the capital Kathmandu, at a shallow depth of 10 km, the U.S. Geological Survey said. A 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck on April 25, killing more than 8,000 people and there have been a series of aftershocks since then. (Editing by David Clarke)
By Aubrey Belford and Reza Munawir KOH LIPE, Thailand/LANGSA, Indonesia (Reuters) – A boat crammed with migrants was towed out to sea by the Thai navy and then held up by Malaysian vessels on Saturday, the latest round of “maritime ping-pong” by Asian states determined not to let asylum seekers come ashore. The United Nations has called on countries around the Andaman Sea not to push back the thousands of
Burundi took 17 people suspected of involvement in a failed coup against President Pierre Nkurunzinza to the high court on Saturday, relatives of some of the accused said.
US special forces killed a senior Islamic State group leader in a raid in eastern Syria, the White House said Saturday, as jihadists closed in on Syria’s ancient Palmyra and Ramadi in Iraq. President Barack Obama ordered the raid on Al-Omar in east Syria on Friday night to capture senior IS leader Abu Sayyaf and his wife Umm Sayyaf, US officials said.
BUJUMBURA, Burundi (AP) — A top Burundi official says that five generals have been arrested for plotting a failed coup attempt against President Pierre Nkurunziza.
US Army special forces killed an Islamic State commander in a daring night raid, the White House said Saturday, in the first publicly confirmed American ground operation targeting jihadists in Syria. US commandos have entered Syria before, for example last year on a failed bid to rescue Western hostages, but this week’s operation appeared to mark a departure in missions targeting the militants. On orders from President Barack Obama, elite
Burundi’s government was Saturday accused of launching a campaign of repression against independent media, the day after loyalist troops defeated an attempted coup against the central African nation’s president. Rights activist Innocent Muhozi said journalists were being subjected to threats of arrest and even death, and that the head of the prominent independent radio station RPA had been forced to flee the country. On Friday President Pierre Nkurunziza thanked loyalist
BEIRUT (AP) — U.S. commandos mounted a rare raid into eastern Syria overnight, killing a senior Islamic State commander in a firefight, capturing his wife and rescuing a Yazidi woman held as a slave, the Pentagon said Saturday.
The verdict was announced Saturday in Cairo.